Manhunters of the Caribbean (1936)
Producers: Andre Roosevelt, Captain E. Erskine Loch- Directors: Andre Roosevelt
- Writers: Ethel Lablanche, Paul Franklin
- Actors: Andre Roosevelt, Captain E. Erskine Loch, Carol Jeffries
- Studio: The Inter-Continent Film Corporation
- Alternate Title: Beyond the Caribbean
P/D/act Andre Roosevelt, D Ewing Scott, S Ethel Lablanche, Paul Franklin, P/star Capt. E. Erskine Loch
Andre Roosevelt (the balding cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt) uses his yacht to rescue Captain Benson (Loch, who narrates) and Rita (Carol Jeffries), the daughter of a missing fortune hunter. They had been stranded by a laughing black servant.
In one weird scene, an underwater native with a hidden air hose stabs divers to death. Black crew members (always called boys) are seen drinking and gambling. Eventually we see (staged) footage of the “voodoo ceremonies” of (black) Penetentes. Rituals of several cultures are mixed as a man is whipped while dragging a giant cross, a skull head priestess is carried and followers scream and writhe in trances.
The travel and animal (wild cat, bear, sloth) footage is from Roosevelt’s actual expeditions. The dialog scenes are amateur and badly dubbed, but were also filmed on scenic locations (in Panama and “Central America”).
The print of the 56 min. feature (from The Inter-Continent Film Corp.) is very good. Teddy Roosevelt turned America into a colonial power and coined the term “race suicide” when encouraging WASPS to have more babies. His son Kermit made even more exploitative roadshow documentaries like Goona Goona (1932).
Follow Us!